Five Minutes With Kathleen Driscoll McKee

Kathleen Driscoll McKee earlier this month was re-elected for another one-year term as president of board of directors.

She is also hoping to earn the Democratic nod to run for the Hunter Mill District seat on the Fairfax County School Board this fall. Driscoll McKee, a longtime educator and education advocate, is running against for the Democratic nomintation. The Hunter Mill Democrats will endorse a candidate next month.

Driscoll McKee has a Master's Degree in Education from the University of Virginia. Her four grown children attended public schools in Reston.

Driscoll McKee will be finishing her second (and final, due to term limits) term on the RA board in early 2012, so should she be elected to the school board spot there would be minimal overlap.

Reston Patch spent five minutes with Driscoll McKee recently.

Reston Patch: Congratulations on your re-election as RA president.

Kathleen Driscoll McKee: I am very excited to serve for another term. It is really a pleasure to live in this community and serve people here. I am one of those live/work/play people. In my entire career, I have spent all but about four years [working] in Reston. I've been very lucky so far.

RP: Why do you want to be on the school board?

KDM: Why not the school board? If you look at my resume and my professional career, it is a natural fit. My whole career has been [involved]  in education. I want to use what I have learned and experienced and observed and use it in a very positive way.

RP: What are the main points you want to make as a candidate?

KDM: I believe there are a couple of things that distinguish me from other candidates. One, I am available for full-time service. I will have no outside employment. No one will have to cover for me [on the board] when I have an 8 a.m. meeting. I can visit schools, meet with parents, staff. That is a critical part of the job.

I believe that public education is the foundation of our entire political system. If you can't read, you can't vote.

I would like to focus on results and substance, not just the process.

RP: What are some of the biggest issues for Fairfax County Public Schools?

KDM: One of the biggest ones is working collaboratively between the community, the schools, and the board of supervisors. We need to restore trust. I get the feeling that a lot of people are concerned about public education, and there is some acrimony now. I think it is a communication issue.

I want to make sure there are professional benefits for all educators. That means a suitable benefits package, not just salary. There needs to be a fitting work environment with the safe and proper tools to be productive and with opportunities for growth and professional development.

We need to raise achievement. People talk about closing the gap, but I think all ships rise on the same tide. I think an appropriate achievement level [for individual students] needs to be identified. I worry about the people in the middle getting squeezed.

I would like to see a comprehensive discipline policy. There are some steps being taken and there is increased awareness, which I think is great, but I personally think parents need to be involved in anything more [severe] than detention. We also have to think about the intent of discipline. What is the desired outcome? Different situations require different remediation. That is really important.

RP: What are some issues unique to the Hunter Mill District?

KDM: Some schools have gotten increasingly bigger. Some have gotten shockingly smaller. Look at Terraset Elementary. It is much smaller, and I fully intend to take care of that. I would like to see it become a magnet school.

Some of the fixes for some of the schools are expensive, but some would just need the page turned a quarter of an inch.

I really like the IB [International Baccalaureate] program at South Lakes. I think it teaches people to think in a holistic manner and connect the dots as you go along. A student does not have to take the whole IB program. I am chagrined it has come down to AP vs. IB.

I would like to figure out a good boundary-setting process. I think the last time around was not satisfactory, People felt a decision was made without them being informed. Should we go through it again, I would like to see community meetings, public meetings, comments on the website. Then we could take the community input and consider it. Can we honor every request? No, but the people need to have a voice. This is important. This is their child.

RP: Anything else you want citizens to know?

KDM: Independent of my success for school board, I will be continuing my public service in this community. If not on school board, then somewhere else. Disappearing is not my style.